senile or what .help

[kent18]

Need info,my 89 year old auntie fell last thursday and was addmited to hospital,turns out she has 2 fractures of the pelvis and 2 fractured ribs,However since she has been in hospital she seems to have deteriated mentaly,she was as normal as an 89 year old can be ,but now she seems to be on verge of being senile,whe i ask the nursing staff why she is like this they say she has a urine infection and this can affect the brain.she had urine infections before at home and she has been mentaly sound.Anybody had any experience of this.

[bednobs]

yes, i used to work as a nurse. With elderly people, it takes only little things to completely knock them off their feet, both in the literal sense and mentally. It is EXTREMELY common for older people to go doolally with a urine infection, or a chest infection, or even just a change of location or a fall. It is usually only temporary. senility in the dementia sense does NOT come on over the course of a couple of days - more like months and years

[mandimoo]

i know someone who used to care for an elderly woman that had persistent urinary infections, and yes, it does send them.... hallucinations and the like.

[Velvetee]

The exact same thing happened to my 83 year old mother. I'm convinced they do something to them in hospital, which makes them a bit dotty.

My mother was mentally ticking when she was taken into hospital last summer with a heart complaint and breathing problems. When she came out she seemed different, she is now more forgetful, her short term memory is terrible and she has become childlike, often making bizarre claims, the latest being, that her olderst Grandson is trying to kill her.

I have also heard of this happening to other elderly people. Pehaps they give them sedatives, which affect them badly.

[Ethel]

It will be the painkillers that are causing the change in her mental awareness

[GINGER BIRD]

rest assured it is perfectly normal even though it seems highly unlikely . my mum was elderly and contracted a urinary infection and had all the symptoms of senility but they went as soon as they had arrived when the antibiotics sterted working.

[Ice.Maiden]

As others've said, seeming confused after an infection is very common in older people. An elderly aunt aunt of mine ended up in hospital repeatedly because of this. They rehydrated her because she hadn't been drinking enough, and treated her with antibiotics for the infection. She was back to normal very quickly, but this kept happening because she refused to take in enough liquids. Sadly, she ended up in a care home, where they keep a watchful eye on her.

[natalie_1982]

I posted a question VERY similar to this last year as my elderly grandad had exactly the same thing, he is late 80s and was being admitted to hospital for his heart; his mind was completely sound, but upon admission to hospital each time he would go completely dolally, claiming the nurses were hvaing discos round his bed in the nighttime, that people whom he had not seen for 40odd years had visited him and that he wasn't actually in a hospital but was at a piggery, and that the workers were drinking beer and wouldnt give him any! Each time he was released he would be absolutely fine at home. We were told that it was due to urine and chest infections he picked up in hospital, but it is very odd indeed.

Hope your auntie gets better soon x

[zzxxee]

at 89 she is a really good age but things do start slowing down a little i work with elderly residents and u.t.i infections can make people act odd or out of charachter is she drinking enough??? when you visit encourage her to take a s much fluid as possible because it is vital she does not get dehydrated

[LoftyLottie2]

Yes, urine infections can cause dementia like symptoms.

I 100% agree with Bednobs well informed answer. It is not anything that hospitals give them that causes it.

It happened to my mother when she had a mild heart attack and was in hospital for a while and it has also happened to her when she has had urine infections. Extremely common.

[LoftyLottie2]

My mother was not on any sedatives at any time - I knew exactly what drugs she was given.

I forgot to add, that on each occasion she returned to her normal self.